Blue Eyes's Warriors
by Erriel
Summary: With the help of a struggling amateur researcher, a runaway Pokémon runt aims to break all the rules and lead a team of rejects to glory...all without a human trainer. 30 years before Ash, Orange Islands.
1. Pummelo

Chapter 1

**Pummelo**

* * *

"That one never had a chance."

Lugging a bulky plastic bag behind them, the two men grunted as they heaved their load into a waiting dumpster. The burlier of the two shook a bead of sweat from his forehead and wiped his grungy hands across his jeans. "It's no use," he called to his younger companion. "That Pokémon's deader than a decapitated doornail. You heard the orders – gotta toss the body before it starts stinkin' up the place. Not to mention what'll happen if the young master finds out."

The other was silent as he lifted a second, considerably lighter garbage bag into the air. With a deft toss, it fell on top of the first. Grey eyes carefully emotionless, the young man crossed his arms over his stained lab coat and watched his friend give both bags a perfunctory shove. The thud of the dumpster's closing cover resonated in the alley.

"I'll never understand why they agreed to take such a weak Pokémon," the older man grumbled. "Never was a chance for that one, no sir." He laughed harshly, shaking his shaggy head and starting back the way he'd come. "Could've told 'em that from the start, but they wouldn't've listened. Toadies and boot-lickers, every stuck-up one of 'em. The young master won't be pleased if he ever hears 'bout this; I can tell ya that."

Arms still crossed, the grey-eyed man did not move. Ignoring the longish strands of brown hair falling into his face, as well as the overpowering stench of week-old garbage, he waited until the other man had disappeared around the corner before walking deliberately up to the dumpster.

"Well, I guess this is it, little buddy," the young man said, a bitter smile twisting his face. "I warned you not to expect a proper burial, but this…you've got to agree this is going a bit far."

He laughed nervously, then quickly grew solemn. "What you could've become, if you'd actually lived, that'll always haunt me," he said finally, bowing his head. "But not even having the strength to survive; maybe…maybe you would've been even more worthless than any Pokémon of your kind. But no one will know now, will they, little buddy?"

A choking lump formed in his throat as he forced himself on. "We'll always be left to wonder, won't we? Wonder what you…"

A loud call rang through the air, breaking through his faltering words. "Yo, Sammy! You comin' or what?"

Taking care not to trip over the edge of his wrinkled lab coat, the young man took off at a brisk trot, the unformed words left hanging in the putrid air.

Underneath the dumpster lid, buried underneath layers of black plastic, the slow, subtle beating of a tiny heart quickened into a nervous pound. But the danger was over, for now, at least. Slowly, the rapid hammering slowed into a relaxed, easy beat.

And a black-tipped ear gave a single twitch in the darkness.

* * *

The Pummelo Waste Disposal service arrived early the next morning, prompt as always. Yawning sleepily at the solemnly grey dawn sky, the driver backed the garbage truck into the alleyway before signaling a pair of coworkers in the back.

One of the workers cried aloud as a scrawny Raticate shot out from behind the dumpster, barely missing his leg as it dashed down the alley. His companion shook her head, smirking. "Vermin," she pronounced coolly. "They're everywhere nowadays."

"The city's got more wild Pokémon than the forests," the other scowled irritably. "Not that those good-for-nothing trainers ever bother to come here. All the kids today care about are those so-called Gyms on the mainland. Second they become Pokémon trainers, they're off to Kanto or Johto. Don't take a backwards glance at the Orange Islands, much less return to support their ailing parents."

"Good thing," his coworker said dryly, "or we'd be working even longer."

The contents of the dumpster thudded into the truck in a smelly cascade of bags and loose debris. Rumbling noisily, the old garbage truck started back down the street, rattling a bit over the numerous potholes in the road.

At every bump, a certain plastic bag gave a small, spastic shudder.

Shrill, screaming Wingull filled the malodorous skies above Pummelo Bay. Still more covered the shoreline, gleaning choice pickings from floating mountains of rotting food. In a burst of white and blue, several scattered as the garbage truck clanked towards the water. Others, however, flapped their wings and squawked indignantly at having their meal interrupted.

As soon as the truck emptied its load into the bay and drove off, a huge flock of seabirds converged upon the new bags, tearing at the plastic with their beaks and beating their wings fiercely at any other Pokémon that ventured too close.

One sharp-eyed Wingull caught sight of a bag that the others had overlooked, one half-buried underneath a mound of old plastic test-tubes and crumpled tissue wipes. Chortling craftily to itself, the Pokémon hopped forward, darting a cautious look about, before yanking the bobbing garbage bag out of the water and pecking it apart.

From within the folds of plastic, the eager Wingull caught glimpses of matted yellow fur. Two long ears followed, both looking as if their tips had been dipped in glossy black ink. Last of all came the round face and blood-red cheeks, small and still against the expanse of the black bag.

The Wingull cocked its head skeptically at its discovery, noting the creature's tiny, scrawny body with distaste. Prodding at the tip of the zigzag tail that protruded from the other end of the bag, the bird Pokémon threw away its momentary qualms and bent in. Food was food, and the Wingull was hungry.

As the bird moved in, the creature's eyelids twitched, as if struggling to open. Letting out a piercing scream as its meal's body began to shudder, the shocked Wingull rocketed into the sky, wheeling crazily past several other birds and disappearing from sight.

On the ground below, the other members of the flock looked about, curious to see what had startled their fellow Pokémon. All pairs of beady black eyes were on the yellow-furred creature as it staggered onto its four paws, tiny limbs wobbling unsteadily. Finding balance at last, the creature crawled forward through the folds of the bag that surrounded it. It collapsed moments later, body sliding across the slick plastic and falling on top of an discarded, floating Frisbee.

A raucous cawing swelled up from the assembled Wingull. Feathers flying, two or three landed inches away from the dirty plastic disk, cocking their heads curiously at the small body. Once more, the muscles in the creature's eyelids twitched. Its long ears perked up from its petite back as the Wingull began to jeer and poke with their beaks.

Slowly, deliberately, the tiny creature turned its face towards the Wingull and opened its eyes.

The cries of the bird Pokémon echoed through the skies of the Pummelo Bay, sending the majority of the flock fluttering into the air and speeding away on their ivory white wings.

A light breeze sprung up moments later, rocking both the Frisbee and its light occupant. With only this gentle push, the old piece of plastic started moving across the bay, bobbing as it went. Curling its body into a tight ball, the yellow-furred creature turned its large, almond-shaped eyes towards the cloudless sky.

A sky that was as a dazzling clear _blue_ as the creature's own unblinking gaze.

The Frisbee kept on moving, drifting past the voluminous mounds of garbage and into the open ocean, carrying its diminutive passenger along with it.

* * *

As she trotted down the sandy shoreline, skimming the ground so quickly that not a single pawprint marked the wet sand, Blackberry the Raichu raised her head into the air and took a deep sniff. Salty sea air filled her nostrils in a brisk wave, making her wrinkle her button-black nose.

Today, though, there was something different woven in beneath the sharp scent of the ocean. Twitching her curved brown ears alertly, the Raichu crept towards the edge of the island and waded paw-deep into the tidewaters. The cold waves slapped at her sides as she went, drenching her orange fur and stinging her eyes.

As Blackberry looked about, debating whether or not to venture further offshore, a bright piece of plastic caught her eye. A disk was bobbing up and in the shallow water, only several feet away. Huddled atop that flimsy piece of plastic was a sodden, unmoving shape, its yellow fur matted stiff with salty water.

Blackberry caught her breath with dismay, hoping that one of her wild Pikachu pack mates had not been injured. But as the Raichu paddled towards the floating plastic, she already knew that this was not one of the Pokémon she lived with and watched over. She would have recognized one of her fellow pack members by scent. This Pikachu, however, was completely unknown to her.

As Blackberry came upon the strange new Pokémon, she saw for the first time how small it really was. No taller, nor broader, than the Raichu's front forelimb, it could have easily been held in Blackberry's cupped paws. Tentatively, she extended her neck, clasped the Pikachu's limp body in her teeth, and carried it back to shore.

An anxious cry greeted Blackberry as she set paw back on the sand. Setting the Pikachu's body carefully down, and shaking out her soaked fur, Blackberry spotted a young Pichu racing towards her on all fours.

_"Big Bolt Blackberry!"_ the Pichu shouted, skidding to a stop before the Chu pack leader. _"Big Bolt, Zap's been shovin' some of the baby Chu into the bramble bushes again! I'm not tryin' to tattle, Chaser told me not to tattle…but…"_ The Pichu broke off sheepishly, its pink cheeks flushing a bright red. _"Who's that?"_ it said curiously as its gaze fell on the Pikachu Blackberry had just found. _"Big Bolt, what happened to tha' Pikachu? Is it…alive?"_

Pressing her cheek gently against the Pikachu's body, Blackberry could just detect the subtle rise and fall of its scrawny chest. _"The Pikachu's fine, Sycamore,"_ she told the anxious Pichu with a surprised laugh. Try as she might, Blackberry could not imagine how the small Pikachu had managed to arrive at the wild, remote island alive. Had it floated across the entire ocean, for days and days?

Gently, Blackberry bent forward and licked the crusty salt from the tiny Pokémon's face. The Pikachu did not open its eyes, but its mouth gave a small twitch. Blackberry watched silently as the Pikachu let out a spluttering cough, choking up sea water and spittle.

_"We need to take our new friend here down to the sunning stumps, to dry off,"_ Blackberry said as the Pikachu's spit ran down her fur. _"Then you should take me to see Zap, Sycamore. I have a feeling that my little brother needs another talking-to about respect in the pack."_

Sycamore nodded vigorously in agreement, before its round face lengthened into a worried frown. _"But, Blacky,"_ the Pichu said, eyeing the strange Pikachu in Blackberry's arms. _"That Chu's not from our pack, is it?"_

_"No, Sycamore. I guess it's not. How it reached us, I'm really not sure."_

_"But you don't think that…"_ The Pichu's bright black eyes had grown very wide, and it ducked its head sheepishly as it went on. _"Blacky, you don't think that the Pikachu came here with…a Trainer? Do you?"_

The Raichu shook her head and rested her long tail on Sycamore's shoulder. _"I smelled no Trainers,"_ she said firmly, pushing the Pichu's chin up so that its face met her own. _"Many Chu, I know, worry about Trainers in our forest. But none of us would ever stand by and let a Trainer Capture a fellow Chu. We're a pack, Sycamore. Not one of us would ever let another come to harm, not one…" _Blackberry's face darkened as she recalled an image of her brother Zap, shoving a baby Pichu off a log and laughing. Well, Zap would be dealt with soon enough.

With Sycamore at her side, Blackberry started away from sands of the beach and into the darkness of the forest, cradling the small sleeping Pikachu in her paws.

* * *

_**Notes:** (__gah, I should be beaten for my portrayal of wild Pokémon...) Italicized dialogue, as you see, is translated Pokémon speech for this fic. Also, many of the Pokémon characters will tend to capitalize certain words, such as "trainer" or "captured," to emphasize a particular meaning. _

_Continuity-wise, this is probably about 30 years before Ash and Co. Though it takes place in the Orange Islands, the Orange League is not yet in existence._


	2. Zap's Pack

Chapter 2

**Zap's Pack**

* * *

The Berry supply was getting low again, but Zap saw no reason to move from his shady spot underneath the ailanthus tree. As the new leader of the island's Chu pack, Zap was entitled to certain privileges...privileges which included bullying the smaller Chu into forking over their dinner, if need be. In the past, such actions would have earned heated reprimands from his older sister Blackberry. But now that righteous old Blacky had been conveniently missing for several months, Zap could do whatever he pleased. Stretching like a well-groomed Persian, the wiry Raichu sank back into his leafy nest, preparing to sleep away the rest of the morning. Unfortunately, luck was decidedly not on his side.

_"There's a HUMAN in the forest!" _came the shrill voice of Chaser, the Chu Pack's chattiest Pikachu member. _"A HUMAN ! I saw a HUMAN in the FOREST, walking right by the drinking pool!" _

Zap opened a lazy eye as Chaser bounded forward, its ears perked in excitement. _"I told you not to wake me up, _chua'hu_ brain,"_ the Raichu said irritably.

_"Zap, did you hear?"_ the Pikachu cried breathlessly. _"There's a HUMAN in the FOREST! And he's got PokéBalls with him! I think he's a TRAINER!"_

_"Look, you half-charged ion, I could hear what you were sayin' way back..." _Zap's long black tail shot straight up as the remainder of Chaser's sentence sunk through at last. _"A Trainer?"_ the Raichu exclaimed, bolting onto all fours. _"Did the Warden...?"_

_"Buckeye saw the Warden coming down a couple minutes ago!" _Chaser said hurriedly, rocking back and forth on its paws. _"If we hurry, we might not miss the start of the battle!"_

Zap was out of sight before the Pikachu could even finish its sentence.

Dodging through the thick forest undergrowth and bounding over a succession of upraised roots, Zap skid into a row of leafy sumac bushes, where the majority of the Chu pack was already assembled. Chaser trotted up seconds later, visibly out of breath. Though whether it was from talking or running, Zap couldn't say.

_"I'll bet half my Bitter Berries on the Warden," _one Pichu was eagerly telling an older Pikachu.

The Pikachu scoffed at this. _"Betting's stupid, _chua'hu," it retorted. "_These half-charged battles are stupid. The Warden always wins."_

A collective shudder arose from the Chu pack at the mere mention of the Warden. None of the Chu, even Zap himself, knew the old human's real name. They knew only of the sharp eyes, the nasal shout, and the clunking pair of leather boots. Not to mention the Warden's Trained Graveler, who frequented the Berry bushes and delighted in dispelling hungry Chu with vicious Rock Slide attacks. None of the Chu had favorable memories of the Warden or his Pokémon, but endured their presence nonetheless. For it was common knowledge that, despite the Warden's hate of all Chu, he did anything and everything to keep other humans away from his precious Berry bushes.

Which, in turn, kept ambitious young Pokémon trainers from finding the Chu pack.

As much as they loathed the Warden, all Chu feared Capture far more than the old human's wrath. Whenever a trainer did show up in the forest, the Chu excitedly watched the Warden drive out the intruder with a Pokémon battle.

Zap, the sole Raichu of the Chu pack, was no exception. In fact, Zap had been the one who had started the tradition of attending the Warden's battles. The previous Chu Big Bolt, Blackberry (sentimental old spark that she was) had always denounced Pokémon battles as dangerous and barbaric, something that all Chu should stay away from.

And Zap, of course, had always done everything he could to annoy his older sister.

_"Betting's stupid, huh, _chau'hu-a?_" _Zap said now, picking out the Pikachu that had spoken and signaling it forward with a swish of his tail. _"These battles are stupid? Well, little _chau'hu, _I'll make you a deal. If the Warden wins, you give your Berry rations to the rest of the pack for a week."_

Shouts of approval accompanied this proposal. Zap silenced them with a wave of his tail.

_"But if the Trainer happens to win," _the Raichu continued, _"the whole pack, including myself, will gladly fork over our Berries to you, my young friend. What do you think of that, my_ achu'au-chu _companion? Is that a bet you're willing to take?"_

Looking at the snickering faces of the other Chu, the cowed Pikachu mutely shook its head. Zap sneered, shoving the Pikachu backwards with a slap of his long black tail. _"Next time," _the Raichu sneered, _"watch how you're shooting off your mouth, _chua'hu-a. _It takes a lot less than a stupid bet to take away your Berries for a week."_

_"Ooh, the Big Bolt got you good!" _Chaser said enthusiastically to the fallen Pikachu. _"Got you real, real good!" _

But Zap wasn't finished. Raising his paws to the assembled Chu, he called out loudly. _"These battles are far from being as stupid as our friend here," _the Raichu announced, pointing a paw at the already humiliated Pikachu. _"The Warden always wins. That's true enough. But where would we be if he didn't?"_

Fearful murmurs rushed through the crowd of Chu like ripples over the water in the drinking pool.

_"Our resident _chua'hu _brain doesn't seem to realize that. Never seemed to cross its pitifully half-charged head," _Zap continued, putting extra emphasis on the word _"its." _As the only fully evolved Pokémon residing in the Chu pack, only the Big Bolt Zap deserved to be addressed as a _"he" _or a _"she."_

The Raichu shot one final smirk at the Pikachu before adding caustically, _"You're lucky that the Warden always wins, _chua-hu. _With your scintillating smarts, you'd be Captured within a week."_

The other Chu giggled as the disgraced Pikachu buried its flushed face in its paws. Feeling satisfied at last, Zap was just about to turn back to the impending battle when a small, soft voice broke through the air.

_"The Warden doesn't always win,"_ it said, barely more than a whisper.

Ears twitching, Zap spun about. _"Which one of you scrawny sparks said that?" _he demanded angrily, static fizzling across his cheeks.

The crowd of Chu parted instantaneously, leaving behind a single, tiny Pikachu. Its head was bowed as Zap stormed forward, and it did not look up even as the Big Bolt began to speak.

_"You calling me an idiot, runt?" _Zap snapped at the tiny Pikachu, who, he realized in surprise, was no larger than the pack's youngest Pichu.

_"No, sir," _came the quiet response.

_"Say that again, squirt, and look me in that eye this time."_

Devoid of all emotion, the Pikachu stood on the very tips of its paws and raised its face towards Zap.

The Raichu took an involuntary step backwards as the Pikachu blinked its strikingly blue eyes. Eyes that were not even in the proper round shape of a Chu's, Zap noted with disgust. They were much too elongated, much too large, to belong to any Chu.

The little freak, Zap thought in revulsion, had eyes that looked eerily like a Human's.

_"Stop staring at me!" _Zap yelled at the blue-eyed Pikachu, his tail lashing against the ground. The Pikachu blinked again in response.

_"The Warden didn't win," _it said in that same light, but frank whisper, _"when Blackberry was Captured." _

A wave of whispers rippled through the assembled Chu. For as it had pronounced the dreaded word, the Pikachu's strange gaze had revealed none of the fear so often seen in the eyes of Wild Pokémon. For one of their fellow Chu not to be afraid of Humans was unheard of!

Zap, however, only bristled at the mention of former Big Bolt's name. Somewhere in the back of the crowd, a Chu was whispering _"Blue Eyes, don't!" _but Zap hastily stilled all commotion with a slap of his tail.

_"Blackberry was an idiot," _the Raichu proclaimed coldly. _"You think she was Captured, runt? I'm telling you she probably wandered out of the forest and fell into some hole. Better yet, got run over by one of those human otto-moe-bill things. The whole pack nearly starved to death 'cause of Blackberry! Couldn't even feed herself, the half-charged _chua'hu_, yet she took in stray Chu left and right. Heh! Only an idiot like Blackberry would let a runt like you into the pack."_

_"Blackberry was the one who found me several months ago," _the tiny Pikachu, Blue Eyes, admitted expressionlessly. _"She saved my life when she let me into the pack. And I'll take on your bet."_

All the Raichu could do was stare confusedly at Blue Eyes. _"What are you talking about, runt!"_

Blue Eyes' voice remained as soft and steady as ever. _"The bet that Hawthorn wouldn't take on." _It indicated the Pikachu Zap had made an example of before, now crouching miserably under the scanty cover of a beetle-ridden sumac.

_"I'll bet that the Warden loses this time," _Blue Eyes went on._ "And the Trainer wins."_

Zap's tail lashed forward, cementing itself into a shake with Blue Eyes' own lightning-bolt shaped limb. _"You've got yourself a deal, runt," _Zap said loudly. _"Don't think that your rations are going to be very filling for the rest of us, though."_

_"That runt's small enough to fit between the thorns on a Prickly Berry bush!"_ Chaser proclaimed mockingly. _"The runt's small enough to be a Berry on a Prickly Berry bush!"_ The Pikachu's taunts shifted into a squeal of excitement seconds later.

_"Here comes the Trainer now!" _it cried, poking its head impatiently through the bushes. All thoughts of the insubordinate runt driven from his mind, Zap pushed past the younger Chu for the spot under the leafiest, shadiest sumac. Curling his tail behind his body, the Raichu gazed breathlessly at the clearing before them, where the bulky leather boots of the Warden were already waiting.

"Excuse me," came the young, clear voice of the Trainer. "I'm lost, and I need to get to the Tarroco Ferry by noon."

The Warden's gruff, grating voice issued up in response. "I don't have time to take care of kids like you," the old human retorted. "Now get off my land!"

"But I already told you, I'm lost!" the Trainer replied, running a hand through his spiked pale hair. "And this forest is public property!"

"Maybe a Pokémon battle will convince you otherwise, kid."

Zap's heart thudded in excitement as the Warden pulled a tarnished PokéBall from his vest pocket and brandished it at the Trainer. Sneaking a backwards glance at Blue Eyes, Zap sneered to see the runt Pikachu on its haunches, eyes closed and face lifted into the wind. It came as no surprise that the runt would have second thoughts about its hasty bet. The Trainer in question looked even younger than most of the others who had come through the forest.

"I guess my Pokémon could use some fresh air," the boy Trainer said nonchalantly, pulling out a PokéBall and tossing it into the air, catching it again on its way down. "Three-on-three? I'll go first."

In a burst of crimson light, a diminutive snake-like Pokémon emerged, its slender body as sleekly blue as the ocean on a clear, windless day. Dark eyes coming to rest upon the Warden, the mystery Pokémon let out a high, melodious squeal. Its ivory ears, the same light shade as its Trainer's spiked hair, twitched as it waited for the man to send out his first Pokémon.

Zap had never seen such a Pokémon before, and apparently neither had the Warden. Eyes narrowing suspiciously, the Warden twisted the knob atop the Graveler's PokéBall, releasing the ball's occupant into the clearing. The tough-hided Rock Pokémon emerged with a rasping roar, beating its many arms upon its rocky chest. The Trainer's Pokémon surveyed its opponent through its dark eyes, not blinking once.

"Graveler!" the Warden shouted, pointing at the other Pokémon. "Bash 'em in with a Rock Throw!"

"Agility, Dratini!" the Trainer called as large, ungainly chunks of stone began to rain down from the sky. Giving a small squeal of acknowledgment, the Dratini zipped its way past the falling rocks, no more than a blue and ivory blur among the rapidly building piles of stone. Body twisting nimbly, the lithe Pokémon launched itself into the air, somersaulting over its opponent and landing squarely behind it.

"Behind you!" the Warden bellowed as his lumbering Pokémon tried to turn around.

By now, the towheaded Trainer was smiling from ear to ear. "Dratini!" he called, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Use Surf!"

Rearing up onto its small tail, the Trainer's Pokémon unhinged its jaws and let loose a watery blast directly from its mouth. The powerful blow knocked Graveler off its feet and sent it crashing into the Chu drinking pool.

From where he crouched behind the sumac bushes, Zap winced as a huge splash sent water droplets in all directions, soaking the entire clearing. The sumac was not spared, and as Zap spluttered, shaking water from his now-drenched fur, he snuck a second look towards the Pikachu runt.

Blue Eyes was still standing in the same position as before, paws at its sides and face upraised. Eyes squeezed tightly shut, the Pikachu seemed to be concentrating intensely on something unseen. Zap uneasily tore his gaze away as the battle resumed.

Recalling his unconscious Graveler from the pool with a steely glint in his eye, the Warden produced another PokéBall. "You're just lucky, kid," he growled, glaring venomously at the boy. Despite his drenched crimson jacket and wet, flushed face, the Trainer was grinning broadly, showing off a perfect set of even white teeth.

"Maybe," the Trainer shrugged, holding out an arm for his Dratini to wind itself around. "We'll see by the end of this match."

A growl forming in his throat, the Warden unscrewed the Pokéball with his calloused fingers. Letting loose a high, ear-piercing screech, a creature that seemed more vine-entangled mass than Pokémon tumbled into battle. Two unblinking white eyes stared at the Trainer from among the constantly writhing vines, and as the Pokémon hopped forward, a bright red pair of feet sprang out from underneath its body.

Some of the younger Chu hid their faces and scurried backwards upon the sight of the new Pokémon. During nighttime Berry raids, many an unwary Chu had mistaken the Warden's Tangela for a Berry bush. All remembered the ensuing lesson well, one that had been delivered through an immobilizing Stun Spore or painful Poisonpowder attack.

"Slow that mon down with a Stun Spore!" the Warden roared at his Tangela.

Screeching again, the Tangela leapt forward and began to shake its many vines. The Dratini, who was still perched upon its Trainer's shoulder, was forced to jump away as a thick golden haze wafted in its direction. The Trainer, for his part, jumped adroitly backwards as the angry Tangela barreled past.

"Stun Spore! Stun Spore! Stun Spore!" the Warden yelled over and over to his Pokémon. As it bounced, dodged, and wound its way past the bulky-bodied Tangela, the Trainer's Dratini opened its mouth and emitted what was unmistakably a derisive squeal. Dark round eyes flashing impishly, the Dragon Pokémon leapt into the air, grabbing hold of a low tree branch with its tail. From its position on the ground below, there was no way for the heavy Tangela to reach its opponent. Unless...

Quicker than Zap could follow, twin vines lashed out from the Tangela's body, twisting themselves viciously around the Dratini's body.

"Dratini!" the Trainer called, not seeming at all worried about his Pokémon's predicament. "Thunder Wave!"

Through the corner of Zap's eye, the Raichu thought he glimpsed Blue Eyes's ears twitching, just the slightest bit.

Slipping out of its opponent's grasp as easily as a bar of soap, the Dratini somersaulted several feet backwards before bracing itself against the ground. Fizzling sparks of static sprang up between its white ears, looking like miniature bolts of lightning. Zap could practically feel the air tingle as the Thunderwave attack shot forward in a swift succession of sparks, freezing the writhing Tangela in place. The Warden's face reddened dangerously as his Pokémon became locked in the same exact condition of paralysis he had intended to inflict on the Dratini.

"Okay, Dratini!" the Trainer instructed, flicking water from his pale hair. "Finish it off with a Slam!"

The Dratini's body met the Tangela's with a sharp crack, sending it flying backwards into the dirt.

By now, the Warden was sweating visibly. Digging into his vest for a final PokéBall, he wiped his red face on the sleeve of his raggedy old jacket. At the other end of the field, the Dratini bounded back onto its Trainer's shoulder. Both watched patiently as the Warden fumbled with his last PokéBall.

Spitting on the ball's surface when he found it at last, the Warden looked the boy straight in the eye. "You're good," he said gruffly. "No one's ever gotten me down to my last Pokémon before."

"Yeah?" The Trainer shrugged and his Dratini bobbed its head. "That's what my final-round opponent at the Pokémon League told me, just before I creamed her."

Breath coming in gasps, Zap felt his gaze darting from the battle, to Blue Eyes, back, and then to Blue Eyes once more. How could the runt have known that this Trainer was some kind of battling champ? No one could've have possibly known that! However, the Pikachu runt's closed eyes and sedate face told Zap nothing.

"Beedril!" the Warden bellowed as he wrenched the PokéBall open. In a flurry of gauzy wings and yellow-and-black stripes, the wasp-like Pokémon shot into the air, coming to hover yards above the forest ground. A sly smile twisted the Warden's face as he sized up the current battle.

"I hope your mon can fly, kid," he chuckled. "Else it doesn't stand a chance. Beedril!" he thundered, pointing to the Dratini. "Pin Missile!"

Once more, the Dratini was forced to leap away from its Trainer. Several needle-sharp darts embedded themselves into the earth at the Trainer's feet. Even more peppered the ground of the clearing as the Dratini skipped forward, dancing its sinuous body towards the edge of the clearing. To Zap's amazement - and horror - the Pin Missile attack missed every time.

Face flushing even redder than the vivid crimson of his Tangela's feet, the Warden continued to scream the same command over and over again. But the Dratini had already found refuge underneath a sturdy tree branch. Numerous missile darts implanted themselves into the tree's bark. The Dratini evaded each one with either an agile flick of its tail or twist of its slender body.

"Beedril!" the Warden cried at last, clenching his fists. "Use Twineedle! Now!"  
Buzzing irritably, the bee Pokémon folded its filmy wings and fell forward in a swift dive. Stripes merely a blur against the greenery of the clearing, the Beedril shot directly towards the Dratini on the branch, its silvery sting upraised.

Behind Zap's back, eyes still tightly closed in concentration, Blue Eyes' ears perked into the air. Tail rising straight up in apprehension, the Pikachu mouthed a single word.

_"Duck."_

The Beedril slammed into the branch with a resounding crash as the Dratini ducked below. Wings bent and mind dazed, the Warden's Pokémon fell back against the ground, fully unconscious. Chirping merrily, the Dratini swung down from the tree and wiggled back towards its grinning Trainer.

Zap paled, not daring to turn around and face Blue Eyes.

"Could you give me the directions to the ferry now?" the Trainer asked as the Dratini wound its way around his shoulders.

Sinking to his knees, the Warden recalled his Pokémon. "You beat me," the old human said in amazement. "Now the forest and the Berry bushes are yours." Not looking at the boy, the Warden stuffed his PokéBall into his vest. "I'll leave, then," he said blandly, shoulders hunched. "I'll leave the forest to you, kid. Mind you, those Berry bushes have to be protected. There are all kinds of pesky Pokés in these woods; a whole squadron of Pikachu came down just the other day and nearly ate the entire..."

"I don't want the forest," the Trainer said firmly. "All I want to do is get home. As long as you tell me how to get to the ferry, I'll be glad to leave and never come back!"

Color retuning to his previously ashen face, the Warden looked up at the Trainer in surprise. "Seriously, all I want is to go home," the Trainer said earnestly, extending a hand to help the old man up. "Please, just tell me how to get to the ferry."

"I don't believe you, kid," the Warden said, shaking his head. "First you show up here, beat all my Pokés, and then you say you don't want my Berry bushes! Who in the world are you, kid? What's your name?"

The boy grinned broadly and adjusted his jacket, as if he were used to getting this kind of awe all the time. "Lee," he told the Warden. "Lee Arcenciel."

Zap didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. He didn't turn around to see the Pikachu runt lower its face and open its eyes to a sea of awed faces and horror-filled stares. No, Zap didn't bother to do any of that.

Big Bolt Zap turned tail and ran.

* * *

**Excerpt from Grey's Notebook**

The Chu noun _chua'hu_ has no direct translation to Human. The closest we can get is somewhere along the lines of "one who sticks their tail into a lighting surge and consequently fries their brains." Interpreted loosely, it's Chu slang for "idiot."

The _-a_ on the end of c_hua'hu-a _is a suffix meaning "small." _Chua'hu-a _is a phrase for "little idiot."

Adding the ending _-chu_ to any Chu noun turns it into an adjective. So _chua'hu-chu _basically means "just plain stupid."


	3. Syca's Sacrifice

Chapter 3

**Syca's Sacrifice**

* * *

By the time Blue Eyes's eyelids fluttered open at last, the clearing was empty and the sumac bushes were devoid of Chu - save for one young Pichu lingering behind a gnarled tree stump.

_"The Big Bolt ran away after the battle," _the Pichu said, wide-eyed, as Blue Eyes wearily moved forward. _"You won the bet."_

_"I know, Syca," _Blue Eyes told the Pichu tiredly.

The size of Sycamore's eyes did not diminish. _"Does this mean tha' the rest of us aren't gonna eat now?" _Syca asked worriedly. Its little stomach growled in protest.

_"No." _Tail swaying behind its back, Blue Eyes started through the leaves of the sumac, Syca following hesitantly. _"The pack can keep its Berries," _Blue Eyes said as the Chu duo neared the drinking pool. Ducking its head into the cool, cool water, Blue Eyes took a long, deep sip. Syca watched nervously as the Pikachu's head remained in the water for several minutes.

_"Blue?" _Syca said anxiously, yanking the Pikachu backwards by the tail._ "Blue? You okay?"_

Drops of water ran down its cheeks in rivulets, but Blue Eyes made no move to wipe its face. _"Syca, I can't stay here anymore," _the Pikachu said softly. _"Ever since Blackberry was Captured, I've lost my connection with the pack. After the way that battle turned out, Zap'll want me gone for sure."_

The Pichu shook its head and gulped. _"Blue, why'd you take the Big Bolt's bet? You should've known he'd just spark himself into a rage!" _

_"I should've." _Closing its strange eyes ruefully, the tiny Pikachu let its skinny shoulders sag. _"But I got the strangest feeling about that Trainer, and I just didn't care about Zap. _Chau'hu-chu, _I know."_

_"Very _chau'hu-chu_, Blue. Sitting there with your eyes closed and talking 'bout old Blacky. I was scared the Big Bolt was gonna shock you to the other side of the island!"_

Blue Eyes emitted a low, tired laugh. _"So was I," _it admitted.

_"But the Big Bolt ran, didn't he? He was scared of you!" _Syca protested, stubby black tail waving about vigorously. _"Chaser was scared speechless when the Big Bolt ran! I've never seen Chaser not able to talk before! But bringin' up Blacky, now that was _chau'hu'chu, _Blue. Everyone knows Zap hated Blacky. Doesn't like to be reminded that the only reason he's the Big Bolt now is 'cause he's Blacky's brother. Even now, some of the Chu are sayin' that Zap..." _Syca broke off in mid-sentence, hesitant about going on.

_"That Zap bumped Blackberry off himself, I'll bet," _Blue Eyes finished.

_"You think so too, huh? Blue, what are you gonna do about Zap? If the Big Bolt didn't care about shovin' out his own sis, there's no tellin' what he'll do to you when you go back to the pack!"_

Watching a drop of water slide from its nose to the grass below, Blue Eyes blinked. From where Syca stood beside it, the Pichu could not tell whether Blue Eyes's face was wet with pond water, or perhaps trickling tears. _"I'm not going back to the pack, Syca," _Blue Eyes said at last. _"That'd just be _chau'hu-chu_, right?"_

_"Too _chau'hu-chu _even for you," _Syca agreed, swiping hastily at its face with a paw. It smiled at Blue Eyes through its blurring eyes. _"It's not like anyone'll miss you anyway, Blue. They'll just be glad you aren't around to take their Berries."_

_"Guess you're right about that," _Blue Eyes laughed, batting at the head of a giggling Syca. _"I could've gotten the tail on outta here ages ago and done something useful, for once...like finding Blackberry, and bringing her back here to stop Zap. No one would've noticed me gone, I'll bet. Maybe every once in a while they'll wonder what happened to that freak runt with the ugly eyes..."_

Syca's round face straightened into seriousness as its giggles subsided. _"I don't think your eyes are ugly, Blue," _it said earnestly. _"But they're nowhere as good-lookin' as mine!"_

Laughing loudly enough to rouse half a sleeping forest, the two Chu clambered out of the clearing, Syca first with Blue Eyes hot on its tail. Panting and wheezing as it skid to a stop, the Pichu held up its paws in surrender and fell back against a nearby sapling.

Blue Eyes, bent nearly double in exertion, shook its head in Syca's direction. _"Your 'good-lookin' eyes are wet,"_ it noted emotionlessly.

_"Dirt got in 'em," _Syca defended itself hastily, scrubbing with one paw. _"Well, whatcha waiting for, Blue? Go on and get outta here already."_

_"Miss me already, do you?"_

Syca barked out a short laugh. _"You wish!" _Folding its paws, the Pichu sat back on its haunches and tapped its feet impatiently. _"You're not really leaving, are you, Blue?" _it said at last, eyes growing wide once more. _"There are horrible things out there. Trainers, with their horrible, horrible Tamed Pokémon. What if you were Captured, Blue? What if some Trainer's Tamed hurt you?"_

_"I've seen the Trainers that come to the island with their Pokémon," _Blue Eyes stated flatly. _"And frankly, Syca, I've never found them all that frightening."_

Syca shook its longs ears impatiently and screwed up its nose. _"Yeah, right! Admit it, Blue. You're scared of Trainers, just like the rest of us!"_

_"I'm not, Syca," _Blue Eyes protested._ "Maybe I haven't lived here as long as everybody else. I don't know how else to explain it. As for the Tamed, aren't they just Pokémon like us? Pokémon who had the misfortune to be Captured by Humans, just like Blackberry."_

_"Blacky would never become evil like the Tamed, Blue! Blacky's made of stronger stuff than that! She would fight, fight to come back to us! And shock any Trainer to bits if they got in her way." _With an emphatic sigh, Syca threw up its paws in frustration. _"Blue, the way you shoot your mouth off, a Chu might think that you actually approved of Trainers...that you wouldn't mind leaving and getting Tamed yourself!"_

_"Well..." _A musing look furrowed Blue Eyes's brow for a split-second, but was quickly broken by Syca's soft, pleading voice.

_"Blue, you don't really mean any of that talk about leaving, do you?" _the Pichu said anxiously, eyes growing even larger than before. _"Even with Blacky gone and Zap around, you'll still risk staying here, won't you? Won't you, Blue?"_

_"Now that'd be _chau'hu-chu, _wouldn't it, runt?"_

Both Syca and Blue Eyes spun about in time to see the Big Bolt himself emerge from under a nearby ailanthus tree. His ordinarily sleek fur disheveled and black eyes glinting madly, the Raichu swaggered forward and greeted both Chu with a slap of his tail. The dry crack resounded into the surrounding air, making both Syca and Blue Eyes wince.

_"The pack has no need for demon runts like you," _Zap informed Blue Eyes coldly. _"That's what you are, isn't it? You and your ugly human eyes. Only a demon could know about the Trainer and that battle. I won't have filth like you in my pack any longer, runt. So get your sorry li'l half-charged rump outta my sight before I decide to come over there and give it a good kick."_

Drawing itself up to its pitifully small full height, Syca looked Zap in the eye and cried boldly, _"You can't make Blue Eyes leave! Blue's a part of the pack! Blacky said so!"_

The Pichu staggered back moments later as Zap's tail slammed into its face, sending it sprawling into the dirt. _"Never contradict the Big Bolt, _chua'hu'a," Zap snarled, tail raised for another blow. Shooting a smirk in Blue Eyes's direction, the Raichu added swiftly, _"If you don't get going on the count of three, runt, your _achu'au-chu _little friend here gets it."_

Blood was running from a gash in Syca's cheek, along with a rebellious spark of electricity. Cheeks crackling, Blue Eyes stepped forward, body tense.

_"A runt like you doesn't stand a chance against a fully-grown Raichu," _Zap sneered, still holding its tail over Syca's prostrate body._ "Heck, even the strongest Pikachu in the whole pack can't take me down. Pikachu and Pichu, they're all worthless until they evolve. Worthless, every single one of them." _

_Worthless, even more worthless. Worthless, worthless, worthless! _The taunting words echoed in Blue Eyes's throbbing head, repeating themselves over and over again in a terrible chorus. With a roar in its throat, Blue Eyes lowered its small head and barreled forward in Zap's direction.

The Big Bolt let out a howl of anguish before Blue Eyes even got close. Syca had clamped its jaws onto the Raichu's long tail and was refusing to let go. Screaming and twisting about wildly, Zap bounded back and forth across the clearing, Syca biting down for all it was worth. Calling out to the Pichu, Blue Eyes jumped into the middle of Zap's crazy path. It was smacked into a tree trunk moments later by Syca's flying body.

_"Syca!" _Blue Eyes cried, grabbing the Pichu's tail and lugging it to its feet. _"Syca, you've got to get up!"_

The Pichu didn't answer. The ugly gash on its forehead was bleeding down the side of its body, and its little head was hanging off the neck at a funny angle.

Looking up frantically, Blue Eyes caught sight of Zap getting to his feet, sparks fizzling at his cheeks. _"Zap, stop!" _the Pikachu cried out, planting itself in front of Syca's body. _"Syca's hurt, Zap! Syca..."_

But the Raichu wasn't hearing a word Blue Eyes was screaming. Eyes glinting in a feverish madness, the Big Bolt charged forward blindly, mouth open in a ferocious roar.

Blue Eyes went hurtling through the air, body curling into a tiny ball as it slammed into the ground moments later. Overhead, the Pikachu could hear Zap preparing himself for a second charge.

_Syca, you shouldn't have been worrying about me! _Blue Eyes thought, half-frozen by shock. _Oh, Syca, I should've known..._

Blue Eyes knew full well that Zap was right. Not even the strongest Pikachu in the pack had a chance of standing up to a fully-evolved Raichu. And as weak and runty as Blue Eyes was, the Pikachu did have one thing: the will to survive.

So as Zap thundered blindly through the foliage, sniffing and groping about for any trace of the Pikachu, Blue Eyes crept slowly and silently through the forest, using the numerous leaves and vines for cover. Inching its way farther and farther away until Zap's shouts of rage faded out of hearing range, Blue Eyes turned about and headed at a full run through the forest.

Shaking the last of the pond water, and the tears that had mingled with it, from its face, the Pikachu skid to a stop minutes later and briefly checked its bearings. The same, strange impulse Blue Eyes had experienced during its rash bet with Zap was returning in an overwhelming surge, taking control of the Pikachu's wobbling legs.

Ears jerking forward into the wind, Blue Eyes bounded in the direction of the ferry. And as it ran, the Pikachu forced away all memories of Tarroco Island and its inhabitants from its throbbing head.

It knew better than to look back now.

* * *

Putting a hand over his mouth to conceal a yawn, eleven year-old Lee Arcenciel gazed sleepily out over the Tarroco Island Port for any sign of the ferry boat to Hamlin Island. Dragoné, Lee's Dratini, was curled in his lap, dozing off the afternoon hours.

"I hope Mom doesn't mind if we're too late," Lee murmured to the sleeping Dragoné, who wiggled a bit in response. "I think I promised we'd be back...huh, two days ago?"

"Dra, dra," Dragoné muttered back groggily.

Getting to his feet as he saw the ferry chug up at last, Lee shifted Dragoné to one arm and shouldered his pack.

Funny; he hadn't remembered the pack being quite as heavy before. But then again, it was getting late, and Lee was getting tired.

Shrugging off his momentary worries, Lee boarded the ferry to Hamlin, paid his fare, and took a seat at the front of the boat. And as Tarroco Island, and the unpleasant memories it had brought, faded into the distance, the Pokémon trainer gave an inaudible sigh of relief.

So did the passenger hidden in his backpack.

* * *

**Excerpt from Grey's Notebook**

Three more popular Chu phrases:

_achu'au_: a close friend, one whose company is deeply valued  
_achu'au-a_: literally, a little friend. In Chu slang, it also means "best friend."  
_achu'au-chu_: dear; treasured


	4. Grey and Lee

Chapter 4

**Grey and Lee**

* * *

"Come on," Grey whispered to himself, maneuvering the cumbersome tape recorder through the thick, dew-drenched grass. He could feel water soaking through the front of his old T-shirt, not to mention mud sliming up his palms. Sneaking one grime-streaked hand towards the recording button, Grey held his breath and crossed his free fingers before pressing it down.

As tape started rolling at last, Grey pulled back his hand and waited breathlessly, eyes fixated on the small, rodent-like Pokémon several feet away. The Rattata hadn't run off yet; that was good. Sniffing eagerly at the seeds Grey had set out earlier, the rodent Pokémon took one in its paws and began chewing industriously away.

"Come _on!_" Grey hissed again, in a much quieter voice than before so the tape recorder wouldn't pick up his words. Unfortunately, the Rattata seemed wholly intent on stuffing its cheeks with food. Save for the constant munch of sunflower seeds, the Pokémon did not make a single sound.

Gritting his teeth, and trying to keep his breathing as soft as possible, Grey continued waiting. If his mother woke up early and found him outside - with the tape recorder in this condition- she would literally skin him alive. Never mind that Grey _needed _these Pokémon vocal samples for his research project!

Grey sighed inwardly. He could be on the verge of breaking the human-Pokémon communication barrier once and for all, but did his mother care? All she saw was her older son, dragging an expensive piece of recording equipment through the mud and getting his clothes dirty.

A small consolation, Grey mused, was that his thirteenth birthday was approaching rapidly. If he could play his cards right, he'd have a decent recorder by this time next week, one he could set up overnight without worrying about how wet it got. For now, Grey was reduced to slogging through the mud on his stomach, and stuffing the backyard Rattata with so many seeds they were beginning to become a nuisance around the house.

"GREY ARCENCIEL! WHAT do YOU think you are doing in the MUD with THAT tape recorder!"

Grey struggled to his feet as the Rattata bolted through the dew-soaked grass, splattering Grey's glasses with mud before disappearing underneath the far yard fence. With an audible sigh, he grabbed the tape recorder, switched it off, and trudged back to the weathered backyard porch.

"Good morning, Mom," he gulped, trying as subtly as he could to wipe the mud from his T-shirt. "What's, um...for breakfast?"

"What have done to your clothes again, Grey?!" Mrs. Arcenciel groaned, eyeing her older son's mucky shirt and pants with distaste. "Well, go change!"

As Grey headed hastily for the stairs, tape recorder still in hand, his mother called loudly after him. "Grey, do you know what happened to Pin? I can't find it anywhere, and I've just written a letter to your brother. He's been gone two more days than he was supposed to, and it's worrying me."

Pin was the family Pidgeotto. Too old and wizened to participate in Pokémon battles, Pin instead took letters back and forth from the post office to the Arcenciel residence. As for Grey's brother-Grey's lip curled at the mere mention.

"I sent Pin with a letter when I woke up," Grey replied shortly, rubbing impatiently at the dirt on his glasses (which just succeeded in smearing it even more). "It's to my pen pal, Sam."

"Sam?" his mother echoed incredulously. "Sam Oak? Isn't he the intern you met at that science thing last year?"

"It was a research convention in Kanto, Mom," Grey corrected patiently. "The principal chose me to go, remember? Out of all the other students."

His mother's clouded eyes did not clear. "Why can't you make some friends your own age, Grey?" she sighed heavily. "Instead of crawling through the mud and writing to interns who must be twice as old as you."

"Sam's only twenty, Mom!" Grey protested. "And he's brilliant! You should see the work he's done on Pokémon molecular genetics-absolutely fascinating..."

Before Grey had a chance to launch into a detailed description of Sam Oak's latest publications, his mother cut him off. "That's all very well," she said curtly. "But I wish you had thought about your brother before sending out Pin. It's been days since we've heard from him."

Grey barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "It's only been two days," he pointed out. "Lee's always incredibly late for things. He probably just found some other trainer, and they had a really long battle, which made Lee forget about the time and..."

"Do not talk about your brother in that tone of voice, Grey Arcenciel!" his mother snapped before he had a chance to finish. "Honestly, sometimes I think you don't even care about him! Being a Pokémon trainer can be very dangerous, Grey. I will not have you poking fun at your brother for something you didn't even have the guts to go through yourself!"

"Yes, Mom." Grey bowed his head solemnly, as the back of his neck turned an angry red. "I'm sorry."

"You should be!" Mrs. Arcenciel retorted. "Now hurry up and change out of those clothes! You're dripping all over the carpet!"

As Grey bounded up the stairs to the bathroom, he was mentally composing another letter to Sam.

_Dear Sam, _he started, jaw clenched. _Lee, the little brother I haven't seen in over a year, is finally coming home from his Pokémon journey. Trust Mom to work herself up into a fit about it. Second battling champ in the family, that's Lee. Everyone, Pokémon or person, loves him on sight. Dad would have, too, if he were still alive. Perfect boy, perfect son, perfect brother...but that's selfish of me, isn't it? _

_Is it? _

_If I gave Lee one of your research papers, Sam, he probably wouldn't understand a quarter of the contents. He'd have fallen asleep at that convention last year-would've been kicked out or locked in a broom closet or something. But what does all that matter? No one cares about anything besides their precious Pokémon trainers and the glory they bring to our small town. People like you and me, Sam, we're scorned for NOT being trainers ourselves! _

_They say I don't have the guts to be like my brother? Why doesn't someone ask if my brother has the brains to be like me?_

_But, yeah. That's right. Who needs brains to be a Pokémon trainer?_

As soon as he had laid it out, Grey crumpled this mental tirade and pitched it into the dark recesses of his mind. There was no use in getting mad at Lee, not for being the way he'd always been. It wasn't Lee's fault if he got all the attention heaped on him, received all the glory and admiration for being lucky at the mere game that Pokémon battling was.

_But, _Grey thought bitterly, _I'll bet he enjoys every second of it._

"Grey!" his mother called from down the stairs. "As soon as you're done, take this letter to the post office for me, will you! And hurry right back! We have to set up for Lee's coming home party again!"

"Okay, Mom!" Grey yelled back down the stairs. Pushing away unfavorable recollections of Lee's gaudy going away party, as well as the sinking realization that he himself had never had such a celebration in his honor, Grey mounted the last of the steps and turned into the hallway.

As it turned out, there was no need for Grey to deliver his mother's letter. As soon as Grey stepped back down the stairs, shirt dry and glasses clean, he was greeted by the loud pounding of the door knocker. His mother rushed past before he had a chance to open the door. "He's home!" she cried joyfully, unlocking the door and throwing it open. "Lee, we've been so worried about you!"

"I got lost," Grey's younger brother smiled, making a face. "You know how I am, Mom. Took the wrong boat, got off someplace called Tarroco Island. But I found the ferry again...eventually."

"Oh, Lee!" Mrs. Arcenciel said, engulfing her younger son in a bear hug.

With his platinum blond hair and tanned, healthy complexion, Lee Arcenciel was a far cry from his dark-haired, sallow-skinned older brother. Even though their ages differed by a year, the boys were practically the same height (even when Grey tried not to slouch), and it took no amount of guesswork to tell which made the more notable impression.

_You don't even have to know he's a Pokémon battling champion, _Grey thought, absentmindedly plucking at the fraying sleeve of his old T-shirt. No one could possibly imagine spirited, confident Lee Arcenciel as anything else.

Lee, resplendent in his new red jacket, brightened as he saw Grey hanging behind their mother. "Hey, guess what!" he exclaimed, throwing down his backpack and rummaging through its contents. "You won't believe what I...ow! What the...!"

Grey's jaw dropped in amazement as Lee withdrew a tiny Pikachu from his backpack, along with a slightly bleeding finger. The Pikachu, eyes squeezed shut, scurried back under the cover of Lee's old jeans and curled its body into a tight, shuddering ball.

"Another mouse!" Mrs. Arcenciel cried, throwing up her hands in disgust. "Grey, how many times have I told you to stop feeding the vermin in the backyard!"

"Mom, that's no Rattata!" Grey replied indignantly. "It's a Pikachu. An Electric Pokémon that evolves into Raichu with use of the..."

Snapping his fingers suddenly, Lee let loose a sheepish grin. "It must've gotten in my pack on Tarroco," he declared. "That place was like some kind of Pokémon forest preserve." Making a face, he turned and regarded the Pikachu with a grim countenance. "I hope they aren't gonna come after me for smuggling _that _mothball out!"

Careful not to touch the little Pikachu, Lee dug through his pack again, this time emerging with a shiny gold medal. "Guess who won first place at the Pokémon League this year?" he asked with a grin.

Mrs. Arcenciel hugged her younger son once more, sobbing in joy. "Your first year there, too! I knew you would win! Grey and I listened to the broadcasts on the radio every day, didn't we, Grey?"

"Oh yeah," Grey said, feeling it inappropriate to add that the only reason he had been listening, instead of doing groundbreaking research with Pokémon speech patterns, was because their mother had threatened to break his tape recorder otherwise.

"The whole town was so proud!" Mrs. Arcenciel went on. "Even when we heard about the second place winner, that girl who wanted to dispute the awards distribution..."

"Tora Allbright?" Lee said with a grin. "She was a _tough _last round opponent. Toughest I've ever faced. But I won fair and square. Even she was forced to admit that in the end."

Giving Lee one final hug, his mother took the medal from his hands. "I'll set this up right on the mantle!" she declared, dabbing at her teary eyes. "Where everyone can see it!"

Grey had to smile at this. The mantle was already so cluttered with Lee's many Pokémon battling ribbons and certificates that he doubted one more medal would be distinguishable. As Mrs. Arcenciel left the front hall, Lee turned to Grey and grinned.

"So how's it been going?" he asked Grey nonchalantly. "Still crawling through the mud to feed rats, big brother?"

Grey forced back a grimace. "Beats helping Mom set traps," he offhandedly replied.

"I don't suppose you know any way to get rid of that rat." Lee indicated the tiny Pikachu, still scrunched up and shivering inside his backpack. "I've got to get it out before Mom throws a fit. You think she'd mind if I let if loose in the backyard?"

"A tiny little Pokémon like that's not going to stand a chance against some well-fed Rattata," Grey mused. "Hey, Lee? Mom would kill me if I took this Pikachu and...uh...hid it in my room, wouldn't she?"

His brother nodded without hesitation. "Especially if it has anything to do with your rat research," he said shrewdly.

"Well, do me a favor and don't tell her, okay?"

Shaking his head, Lee handed the backpack to his brother. "I guess I could put it in a PokéBall and tell Mom it's mine," he admitted. "But you know, I've already got a perfectly good Electric Pokémon on my team, and Pikachu, well...Pikachu aren't exactly the best fighters, are they?"

"Lousy defense and low stamina," Grey agreed, examining the Pikachu through narrowed eyes.

"Well, maybe, but Pikachu are just so..." Lee rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and made a funny face. "You know. No offense, but no self-respecting trainer's ever gonna have a _Pikachu_ on their team. Pikachu have _cute _and _girly _stamped all over them. It'd wreck my reputation if people found out."

"No sweat, Lee. I'll take care of it. Just _don't _tell Mom."

* * *

**Excerpt from Grey's Notebook**

It is very common for a Pokémon to consider itself an "it." With many species, gender-specifying terms (he, she, etc.) are used in only in formal situations, and even then, only with a superior or stranger who is fully-evolved (the exception to this rule is the Nido family; all forms are addressed as he or she). Another exception is a human or trainer.

It is also perfectly ordinary for some trainers to call their Pokémon an "it" as opposed to a "he" or "she." This is not necessarily intended to show disrespect. The belief that humans are superior to Pokémon can trace its origin back many centuries. Though views of Pokémon and humans may have somewhat changed since that time, forms of address generally have not.


	5. My Name is Blue Eyes

Chapter Five

**My Name is Blue Eyes  
**

* * *

The world had gone dark by the time Blue Eyes got up the nerve to poke its head out of the backpack. Ears twitching and tail upraised to monitor its new surroundings, the Pikachu cautiously crawled out of the backpack.

And fell several inches down into a thick, soft surface.

The new ground Blue Eyes had discovered bounced up and down slightly with every moment that the Pikachu made. Feeling slightly nauseous, Blue Eyes slowly made its way across the soft surface, stopped short seconds later by a precipitous drop at said surface's edge.

Sensitive ears perking in the darkness, the Pikachu could just make out a muffled, grating commotion intermixed with laughing human voices. A pounding noise was sounding now, steadily coming closer and closer.

Blue Eyes lowered its long ears against its back as the pounding grew to a deafening rush. As the darkness burst suddenly into bright light, the Pikachu squeezed its eyes shut. Hastily, it reached forward, feeling a sudden lurch as the ground dropped out beneath it.

* * *

Snapping on the light switch and slamming the door behind him, Grey stumbled forward and fell onto his bed. He hadn't really been exhausted, as he had claimed to the others downstairs. But if he had to listen to one more second of loud techno music, or drink one more cup of fruit punch, he was sure he would run upstairs screaming anyway. Just thinking about the party was making Grey feeling sick with shame and guilt.

Lee had been having the time of his life, parading among his friends and displaying his medal and exuberant victory sign for all to see. So why couldn't Grey be happy, too? For his brother, at the very least?

Rolling over and sighing, Grey's arm hit the side of Lee's backpack. Bolting up, he checked the contents of the pack, and, seeing no Pikachu nestled inside, got down on the floor and began to search frantically. Hoping desperately that the Pokémon had not somehow managed to find its way downstairs, where it would definitely freak out his mother.

A small squeak from above made Grey look up with a start. Eyes closed tightly and tail thrashing, the tiny Pikachu was struggling not to slide from the overhanging edge of the bed blanket. Sighing in relief, Grey scooped the Pikachu up in his hands and deposited it in the middle of the messy bed.

"Sorry about that," he said absentmindedly. "I didn't mean to flatten you."

To his immense surprise, the Pikachu had opened its eyes at last and was training upon him a brilliant blue gaze. Reaching for the small sketchbook he always kept on his nightstand (Sam Oak had suggested it in one of his letters), Grey turned to a fresh page and began to draw furiously, glancing back now and then to check the strange shape of the Pokémon's eyes.

"Amazing," he said breathlessly to himself, pencil flying. Was it a one-of-a-kind mutation that had caused these eyes, or was this some kind of new Pikachu subspecies that had never been documented before? Among other things, Grey quickly noted the Pikachu's relatively small size as well as the cool, detached way it seemed to monitor his cluttered room.

He couldn't wait to tell Sam about this! Rushing to his desk and pulling out another sheet of notebook paper, Grey began to scribble away in his usual illegible handwriting.

_Lee may get all the luck, _the boy thought gleefully, drawing another quick sketch to include in the letter. _But at least some of it rubs off on me. _

_What's that Human doing? _Blue Eyes wondered curiously, darting forward and peering at the boy cautiously. As far as the Pikachu could tell, this human was not the Trainer that had beaten the Warden, the Trainer Blue Eyes had managed to stowaway with. No, this human was entirely different.

"Amazing," Grey said again, finishing up the letter and sealing it into an envelope. He wouldn't even bother to wait for Pin to deliver this! First thing tomorrow morning, he'd run it down to the post office himself.

The Pikachu was still staring at him, Grey realized suddenly, and had been staring intently for all of the last few minutes. Feeling giddy with excitement, the boy impulsively reached into his desk drawer and pulled out the tape recorder. Taking his place at the foot of the bed, Grey carefully placed the recorder by the Pikachu.

"Come on," he whispered, pushing down on the record button.

Eyeing first the boy, then the tape recorder on the bed beside it, the Pikachu closed its strange blue eyes. Its ears twitched once, then twice, but no sound came from its mouth.

Disappointed, Grey reached down to switch the recorder off. A light tap on the wrist stopped him short.

Eyes opening once more, the Pikachu pulled its lightning bolt tail away from Grey's arm and turned its starling blue gaze directly in the boy's direction. Blinking once in acknowledgement, it spun about and faced the tape recorder.

"Pi'kah chapi-ki'chu ki-Cha Ka'Chu pi," it said in a clear, enunciating voice. With a meaningful look at Grey, it settled down on its haunches and waited silently for the boy to proceed.

Hands trembling in exhilaration, Grey yanked out the tape and hurried to his computer. He'd have to make some adjustments to his Rattata translation program, that was for sure. But since both the Chu and Ratia species were rodent types, Grey hoped that the two languages didn't differ by too much.

He ran the recording through the original program first. As he could have expected, all that came out was gibberish. After thirty minutes' tinkering, the situation did not improve.

Managing to shimmy its way down the blanket, the Pikachu scampered up curiously to stare at the computer screen. Absentmindedly, Grey took the Pokémon in his hands and set it down on his chair arm. As the computer spewed forth another load of nonsense, the Pikachu's long, black-tipped ears perked suddenly into the air.

Grey glanced down at his tiny companion, then at the screen before him. Sighing, he began to try yet another approach. The tap of the Pikachu's tail on his wrist stopped him in mid-keystroke.

"What's the matter?" he asked in surprise. The Pikachu started back at him through its large azure eyes.

Biting his lip, Grey went on typing, only to be stopped again by the Pikachu's insistent tail tapping. "I'm just trying to figure out what you were saying before," the boy explained. "Why do you keep on interrupting me?"

The unwavering stare of the Pikachu's blue eyes forced him to stop and rethink what he was doing. Biting his lip again, Grey backtracked one step and started again with what he had been trying before. This time, the Pikachu did not disturb him.

And so it went all night long, Grey typing furiously away, pausing to rethink only when the Pikachu's light tail came down on his wrist. By the time morning rolled around, a yawning, red-eyed Grey triumphantly initiated the final version of his Pikachu translation program.

"Pi'kah chapi-ki'chu ki-Cha Ka'Chu pi," came the original message through the speakers.

It was followed moments later by the flat, monotone voice of the translator.

"My name is Blue Eyes."

* * *

_Dear Grey,_

_Life here on Pummelo Island's as dull as ever. Slept through a whole lecture on how the maternal effect determines Magcargo shell spiraling the other day. It was the only way I could keep myself from running up there and grabbing the microphone. And I wasn't the only one. The so-called professor obviously didn't know a thing he was talking about! _

_Oh well, all in the day of a lowly research intern._

_So your Pokémon trainer brother's coming home at last? I don't know him personally, but if he's anything like my friend Agatha, I offer you my condolences. Aggie, if you remember, got picked as the new Lavender Town Gym Leader last month. She still hasn't stopped gloating._

_Good luck with your translation project. If you run into any problems, feel free to write again. And yes, I do know your birthday's coming up. If you find any strange packages in the mail next week, rest assured it is probably not necessary to call in the bomb squad._

_Then again, I don't know. Depends if I'm in a destructive mood or not._

_Just kidding. Wish me luck on NOT falling asleep during the next lecture (or my PI will have my head for sure)._

_All the best,  
Sam Oak_

_

* * *

_Wind streaming through her long, fiery red hair and whipping it about her face, the girl stared down the sloping green hill, jaw set and eyebrows knit. The huge, striped Arcanine she sat astride turned its mighty head towards its trainer, a reverberating growl forming in the back of its throat.

The girl patted her Arcanine's flank with a consoling hand. "Soon, Spitfire, soon," she said reassuringly. "We've found Hamlin Island already. We'll figure out where Lee Arcenciel lives soon enough."

The enormous Pokémon below her lowered its shaggy head, shaking its creamy-furred mane. As it snorted, smoldering flecks of ember flew from its half-open mouth, smoking in the grass below.

Eyes glittering as brightly as her Arcanine's embers, the girl tightened her grip on the Pokémon's thick neck ruff. "We've been trying to win the Pokémon League gold for the last three years," she hissed in a low voice. "This year, it should have been ours! Instead the judges gave it to that little brat, Lee Arcenciel. Well, Tora Allbright doesn't settle for second place. Let's move, Spitfire!"

Opening its jaws to unleash a mighty roar, the Arcanine reared up on its hindquarters and thundered down the hill, its trainer's fiery red hair flapping out like a flag behind it.

* * *

**Excerpt from Grey's Notebook**

The languages of Rattata and Pikachu have recently been _proven_ to be somewhat similar. Both are now classified as Rodentia Languages. Prorodentia is the language (PokéDialect) spoken by Rattata and its evolved form, Raticate. Aquarodentia, another Rodentia language, happens to be the language spoken by Marill and its various forms.


	6. Tiger Burning Bright

Chapter Six

**Tiger Burning Bright  
**

* * *

As early as Grey made it a habit to wake up each day, when he came downstairs the next morning, Lee was already outside doing stretches with his Pokémon. Cradling his new Pikachu in one hand and opening the food cupboard with the other, Grey was in the process of extracting two apples when the door swung open behind him.

Dragoné perched on his shoulder, Lee ambled into the kitchen, barely breaking a sweat from his early morning workout. He strode past his older brother, flipped an apple in the air, and grinned as Dragoné's tail lashed out and caught the fruit neatly on the way down.

"What are you up so early for, big brother?" Lee asked, biting loudly into his apple. "More rat research?" He indicated Blue Eyes, who was clutching an apple that was nearly as big as its entire body.

Grey opened his mouth, bursting with excitement. But before he had a chance to announce the success of his Pikachu translation program, Lee let out a cry, spitting a mouthful of apple across the kitchen.

"Legends above!" the younger boy breathed, cocking his head to the side. "Grey, that runt rat's got the weirdest looking eyes! You haven't playing with chemicals in your room, have you?"

"Those eyes were like that from the start," Grey maintained indignantly, still stinging from Lee's casual use of the label 'rat research.' "And don't call the Pikachu a rat," he added primly. "It's disrespectful."

"You're beginning to sound like Mom, big brother; did you know?" Taking another bite out of his apple, Lee noted the envelope in Grey's hand with a blink of his dark eyes. "Going to the post office this early?" he asked curiously. "Don't tell me you're still writing to that Sam guy. Heck, Grey, isn't he like twice your age?"

Patting Blue Eyes, who seemed to have choked on a bit of fruit, on the back, Grey rolled his eyes and stuffed the letter into his pocket. He returned his own apple to the cupboard; somehow, he didn't feel quite so hungry anymore. "Don't you have some Pokémon training to do?" he asked his brother dryly, trying to conceal his irritation. "I know you've beaten the Indigo League and everything, but there must be _something_ you can do…"

Lee shrugged, finishing the rest of his apple and snatching up a second for Dragoné. "I'm thinking about going into the Johto League, but Mom wouldn't be too happy about that," he admitted. "The Johto region's even farther away than Kanto. Pity the Orange Islands don't have a League themselves; it worries Mom sick whenever I'm so far from home."

Recovering at last, Blue Eyes consumed the last of its apple and licked the sticky juice from its paws. Knocking Grey lightly on the wrist with its tail, the Pikachu indicated the stairs with a flick of its head.

"Well, good luck convincing Mom," Grey said hastily. "Look, I've got something important to do – see you later, okay?"

Once up the stairs and back in Grey's room, Blue Eyes waited impatiently for the boy to set up the tape recorder and translation program. Then, taking care to enunciate clearly and precisely, the Pikachu began to speak.

"Trainer boy, brother?" the program translated in its usual halting monotone. "What 'rat research'?"

"The trainer boy's name is Lee," Grey answered, speaking just as slow and clearly as Blue Eyes had done. "Yes, he is my brother. Rat research is what he, Lee, calls my Pokémon translation project. The only Pokémon I've managed to translate, you see, are Rattata and now Pikachu. Someday I hope to be able to understand what all kinds of Pokémon are saying." He paused hesitantly, glancing at the Pikachu. "Can you understand what _I'm_ saying?"

Blue Eyes's answer was swift. _"Yes. Where I come from, it's important to understand Humans."_

"You come from Tarroco Island, like Lee said?"

Blue Eyes bowed its head, brow furrowing briefly. Straightening, the Pikachu answered briskly. "When Trainer come, live Tarroco," the computer interpreted awkwardly. "Before no remember. Now no important. Who Sam?"

"Sam, Sam Oak, is my friend," Grey replied, unsure to why Blue Eyes cared. "He's a scientist. I write letters to him and he writes letters to me."

"That one you have now, it's for Sam, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, as a matter of fact. I've written him a bit about you and the new translation program, now that you mention it."

The Pikachu's oddly-shaped eyes flashed sapphire fire. _"Take out what you've said about me," _it said in a slow, emphasizing voice. The computer repeated this in its usual monotone, but from the fierce look forming on Blue Eyes's small face, Grey got its message deafeningly loud and crystal clear.

"But why?" the boy protested, gulping at Blue Eyes's expression. "And how am I going to tell Sam about the Pikachu translator without mentioning you?"

_"Take it out," _Blue Eyes repeated through gritted teeth. _"Take out the translator, too. Do not tell any other Humans about me or the program. Understand?"_

Throwing up his hands in confusion and indignation, Grey let out a heavy groan. "Blue Eyes!" he exclaimed. "This translator could be the scientific breakthrough the world has been waiting for! Why keep it a secret?"

The Pikachu's piercing gaze did not waver. _"First of all," _Blue Eyes said flatly, _"no one would believe you, anyway."_

Grey's mouth opened, but the Pikachu held up a paw before the boy had a chance to speak.

_"You're still only a child, aren't you?" _Blue Eyes stated. _"What are the chances that the adults will view your work with respect and due consideration?"  
_"Sam would believe me," Grey retorted, folding his arms. "He's the one who helped get most of my equipment in the first place! Besides, I have proof that the translator works! Every step of the design process has been carefully documented, and the theory itself is based on…" He broke off, realizing that Blue Eyes was shaking its head.

_"It won't hurt anyone to wait a little longer," _the Pikachu said. _"First, you have to build your reputation. Gain respect. Then, and only then, will others listen to what you have to say."_

"And what do you know about any of that?" Grey demanded. "You're a Pokémon, for crying out loud! A Pikachu, at that!"

The Pokémon's eyes flashed again. _"And you're saying a Pikachu doesn't know a thing about strategy? That a Pikachu and its opinions are worthless?"_

"Blue Eyes, that's not what I meant!" Grey cried. "That's not what I meant at all!" Sighing, he tore the letter in his hands into tiny shreds of paper and tossed them into his wastebasket. "Fine," the boy said grumpily. "Fine, then. I'll just write another letter to Sam. Okay?"

Blue Eyes did not even blink in reply. But it didn't try to stop him, either.

* * *

Riding in Grey's bicycle basket as the boy pedaled furiously down the dirt path, Blue Eyes mused silently amid the frequent jolts of the frayed basket. The shocked look on Grey's face when the Pikachu had forbidden him to tell anyone of the translator still remained vivid in Blue Eyes's head.

_What I told Grey made sense, _Blue Eyes knew, bracing its paws against the side of the basket. _It would be wiser to wait until he can build a reputation for himself. _

For even Blue Eyes had realized the deriding way in which Lee and the rest of Grey's family viewed his project. The Pikachu doubted that much of the scientific community would feel very differently, especially towards an unknown child like Grey who had yet to make a name for himself.

But something else was still there, nagging at the edge of the Pikachu's mind. Blue Eyes still could not understand the strange and sudden vehemence that had come upon it before, when it had become apparent Grey was going to tell Sam everything. Indeed, Blue Eyes knew little of these so-called 'scientists' apart from the hints Grey had dropped, but something in the mere word itself had stirred up a deep and unfathomable feeling within the Pikachu…one that Blue Eyes dared not to disturb.

The boy and Pikachu rode past what seemed to be an endless succession of rolling hills and grassy meadowland. Everything went by in a green blur for Blue Eyes, who had only the tip of its nose peeping out from the basket. When the rosy hues of early dawn began to fade from the sky at last, they pulled up in front of a small white building at the side of the path.

Blue Eyes waited outside the post office as Grey dropped off his new letter. When the boy returned to the bicycle, he was struggling with a large package, and there was a definite gloom shadowing his face.

"Aunt Rosalind's heard about Lee winning the League gold," he mumbled to Blue Eyes, setting the bulky parcel atop the peeling paint of the bike bars. "I think she's sent us another batch of her oatmeal cookies, and I swear you could use these things for bricks. You wouldn't mind riding on my shoulder, would you? This is gonna be taking up most of the basket now."

Cocking its small head and shrugging its furry shoulders, Blue Eyes scrambled up Grey's arm as the bike began to move. With the added weight of Aunt Rosalind's package, they made much slower progress up the hills.

The sun was climbing high into the sky as they neared the edge of the fields, and Grey was sweating visibly in exertion. Blue Eyes winced as the old bike took another dangerous wobble to the side. Grey straightened it laboriously, the tarnished metal of the bike groaning with the effort.

Without warning, a rush of wind approached them in a roar. Blue Eyes's sensitive ears cocked into the air as the wind continued to grow louder and louder, punctuated finally by a piercing yell. Grey, on the other hand, was too consumed with his pedaling to even glance up.

Orange and black blurred together in Blue Eyes's vision as the wind rose to a deafening level. Instantly afterwards, something huge and solid slammed into the bicycle, sending it flying into the grassy field.

Grey and Blue Eyes went sprawling down a few feet away from the crashing bike, their fall cushioned by the soft grass. Crying out, Grey grabbed his Pikachu companion and rolled to the side as Aunt Rosalind's cookies rained down around them.

"That was a close one," the boy sighed, shaking the sweat from his forehead. The now empty paper package dropped over his head seconds later, depositing a rain of cookie crumbs in his hair.

Struggling to pry its way from Grey's hand, Blue Eyes popped out and fell stomach-first into the tall grass. As the Pikachu sat up, spitting mouthfuls of vegetation, a high, hysterical laugh floated towards its long, perked ears. Blue Eyes didn't even have to glance up at Grey's paling face to know he was definitely not the one making that sound.

Leaning with one elbow against a burly, flinty-eyed Arcanine, a girl not much older than Grey himself seemed in the process of splitting her guts. Her long red hair, streaked through with lines of black hair dye, tangled about her Pokémon's shoulders as she cried out in mirth.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she gasped out between giggles. "But the cookies…never seen anyone…attacked by cookies!" Barely able to get more than a word or two from her mouth, the girl threw her head back and howled.

"I yelled at you to get out of the way, but I guess you didn't hear me," she said as soon as she was able to control her laughter. "Spitfire's a big Pokémon and it can't stop that quickly!" Regaining her composure at last, the girl shook out her hair and forced the wide grin off her face. "I guess I'm going to have to pay for that," she said, indicating Grey's mangled bicycle, which was lying on its side at the edge of the field. One wheel, still spinning, fell off the bike and landed on the ground with a dull thud.

Grey, who was staring at her in a mixture of disbelief and horror, seemed to have lost his voice completely. He was distinctly aware that he was scowling, and when Blue Eyes prodded him, twisted his face into a pained smile.

"It doesn't matter," he said with fake cheerfulness. "That bike was about to fall apart anyway. Maybe now I'll get a new one."

But the girl was apparently not listening to a word he was saying. Digging through the pouch strapped around the Arcanine's neck, the girl produced a handful of silver coins and paper bills. Muttering what seemed to be several colorful curses, she scrutinized the coins carefully before turning back to Grey.

"There a bank around here? I don't have any idea what the conversion rate for Island currency is."

Noting the girl's light accent with interest, Grey staggered to his feet, shaking cookie dust from his head and brushing crumbs off his baggy shirt. Blue Eyes scrambled onto the boy's shoulder, digging its claws into his arm to gain purchase. "You're from the mainland regions?" Grey asked the girl curiously. "Kanto or Johto?"

"Doesn't concern you," the girl retorted sharply, returning her money to the pouch. Her now cold eyes roved up the boy's shoulder, settling on Blue Eyes. "You a trainer?" she asked, snickering slightly at the sight of the Pikachu.

Grey felt the back of his neck flush an angry red. Trust Lee to be right about something as trivial as Pikachu being _girly _Pokémon. Well, Grey wasn't a trainer. He didn't have any so-called reputation at stake. "No, I'm not!" he heard himself inform the Arcanine girl snappishly. "Honestly, is that all people ever care about?"

"And when did you realize that?" the girl sneered, crossing her arms and leaning against her Arcanine's flank. "Where have you been the past decade? They've even got a name for non-trainers like you. Nobodies."

Grey, thoroughly used to this kind of talk, simply walked away and knelt beside his broken bike. Well, the wheel was off and the handles were bent, but the bicycle had seen worse in past years. It had been about due for a repaint, anyway…

The Arcanine girl's voice floated up to him as he bent to retrieve the wheel. "Back home, _all_ the kids wanted to be Pokémon trainers," she said, speaking more to herself than Grey at this point. "They had to; there wasn't any other choice. Becoming a Pokémon trainer is what _everyone_ does!"

Calming the volume of her voice, which was rapidly spiraling out of control, the girl turned her attention back to Grey and said, "So what are you then, if you aren't a trainer? Most people don't like calling themselves nobodies."

Caustic as it was, this was one of the few times anybody had ever seemed remotely in interested in Grey's work. "Amateur researcher," he muttered grudgingly, securing the wheel back onto the bike with a shove. "I'm studying Pokémon languages."

"Researcher, huh?" The girl's bright eyes glinted at this. "Well then, even you're gonna have to play up to trainers. Face it; the only point of Pokémon researchers is to make life easier for the Pokémon trainers! None of your so-called research is gonna be used for anything other than giving trainers better Pokémon or better tools for training."

Grey kept his face turned pointedly away from the girl as she ranted on. Blue Eyes, on the other hand, had its ears perked attentively, listening to her every word.

"So, yes! All people _do _care about are the Pokémon trainers!" the girl concluded, face growing red and eyes glittering almost feverishly. "Even you, Mr. Researcher, are going to have to realize that sooner or later! Why do you think so many people are Pokémon trainers? You think we _all _enjoy catching monsters and training them to beat each other up?" Her voice rose a full octave above its original one. "Becoming a Pokémon trainer isn't just for kicks, Mr. High-and-Mighty Researcher! It's the only way of being _anybody_ in this stupid world!"

Still ignoring the girl, Grey heaved his mangled bike onto its one good wheel and began to roll it down the hill. The Arcanine let out a low growl as he passed, paw scraping threateningly against the dirt. Pressing his lips together tightly, Grey continued on his way past the ranting girl and her Pokémon. An agitated Blue Eyes, still staring over the boy's shoulder, hit him repeatedly with its tail. Grey, however, had gone too numb to feel a single whack.

The girl had stopped yelling before Grey managed to disappear over the edge of the hill, but he still didn't bother to turn around. Instead it was Blue Eyes, ears raised and forepaws braced like iron girders against Grey's shoulder, who stared unwaveringly back into the girl's angry red face.

Catching her breath, Tora Allbright nearly choked on her own tongue. Her eyes locked onto the Pikachu's eerie, unnaturally blue stare. But before she could examine it closer, or yell any more heated taunts, both the Pikachu and the boy had vanished down the hill.


End file.
